Month / June 2014

by shannonchance

If there was no fear… what would you dare to dream?

Ted, Damon, and crew conducted a RoboSlam for 18 undergraduate engineering student form the University of Wisconsin last week. I'll post more photos of the event soon, on our RoboSlam blog.

Ted, Damon, and crew conducted an abbreviated RoboSlam this part week for 18 undergraduate engineering student from the University of Wisconsin last week. They are students of former Fulbright, Bob O’Connell (far right). I’ll post more photos of the event soon, on our RoboSlam website.

Solstice in Dublin!

Solstice in Dublin!  It was my first solstice here and I enjoyed every minute of it! Interestingly, there’s indirect sunlight for even longer than 17 hours. The first rays appear before 4 AM and the last disappear after 10 PM.

Dublin is full of sunshine!  Temperatures are topping top out each day at about 65 degrees Fahrenheit and the sun has been staying up for 17 hours each day.  That makes for perfect weather for outdoor yoga.  On the day of the solstice, our yoga instructor, Peter, shared this provocation:  If there was no fear, what positive change would you make in your life?

I mulled the proposition.  I know better than anyone:  There’s good reason to fear what you may lose by chasing outrageous dreams.  But there’s also good reason to seek new knowledge and experience.  I hope someday my work will be a testament to trying hard to live life to the fullest.

This, the second week of my Marie Curie research fellowship, was full of adventures, errands, and learning.  My colleagues and I conducted a RoboSlam and a workshop on Problem-Based Learning at the start of the week.

I was honored to be included in a dinner and workshop with a guest from Portugal, José Manuel Nunes de Oliveira, who you may recall from an earlier blog.  Jose shared his work with the faculty of the DT07 electrical engineering program. This group of teachers is considering making the DT07 program more problem-based.

Jose's three essential elements of PBL.

Jose’s three essential elements of PBL.

Jose identified three elements he sees as essential to PBL (Problem- or Project-Based Learning):

  • Project drives learning
  • Group work
  • Reflection (including Self -and Peer-Assessment)

Jose described various aspects of assessment since this is a topic of concern to many of the teachers in the program.

I wish I had time to post details of the workshop, but I really need to get onto “real” work today.  Below, I’ve uploaded a photo journal of many highlights of the week. I hope they inspire you to find a least one new adventure today–however big or small.

The week started with Father’s Day so I spent time chatting with my family. Here’s a photo from the past of my sister, dad, and me.
Here’s the view from my new office at DIT Bolton Street. Pretty cool!
I’ve been running lots of errands, which gives me the justification to stop at some of my favorite eateries…
…like Avoca, where you climb to the fourth floor to find the cafe.
I chose a new route every time I walk to any given place…
…and try to notice new details, like this like little sitting place in St. Patrick’s park.
I often take a moment to check in with friends back home.
I spent a good deal of time last week with Gavin Duffy’s guest speaker from Portugal, Jose.
Jose came to speak about PBL.
He shared interesting thoughts, experiences, and diagrams.
We also had a speaker from Maynooth.
On Wednesday, I caught up with my new friend Eamon Grogan…
…for a MeetUp at a Russian restaurant.
Following the dinner, Eamon and I headed over to the Cobblesotne to hear Brenda play and Fergus and Eamon sing.
I also reconnected with Cecelia Hartsell, a PhD candidate from Fordham University.
I attended the end-of-year BBQ for DIT’s College of Engineering and the Built Environment.
And finally caught up with the new dean of the College, Gerry Ferrell.
Following the BBQ we headed down to Neelons Pub
…where I knew I’d get to see Ela once again…
…and shoot the breeze with Marek (who helped hone my Marie Curie grant proposal) and Ela’s new husband, Ronan.
For me, this city is full of memories…
…and and aspirations.
Smithfield Plaza is vibrant this time of year…
…capped on the north end as it is, by the Cobblestone pub.
The city is installing new bike racks. Due to the popularity of Dublin Bikes, service is expanding.
Phenix Park was gorgeous on Saturday.
A perfect setting for Peter’s yoga class.
After yoga, I met Nancy Stenson and Eamon Grogan…
…for a guided tour of Glasnevin Cemetery.
Annie was a superb tour guide….
…and our tour this day began with a reenactment of an important funeral oration.
The original event (O’Donovan Rosa’s 1915 funeral) had a few more attendees, however!
I love visiting Daniel O’Connell’s tomb.
Daniel O’Connell was an amazing human rights activist.
And they will soon rebuild the stair in his tower (he stair was bombed once upon a time; the tower pictured previously), so we were fortunate to see the inside, as it is, one last time.
Daniel O’Connell founded this cemetery in 1832 and it has always been non-denominational. There are 1.5 people are million buried here (more than live in Dublin today). All names are recorded, but only about 200,000 rest in marked graves.
Following the tour, we headed over the the Botanical Garden, which I’d not visited before.
To cap the week, I spent Sunday morning with Cecelia, discussing research and grants(wo)manship.
by shannonchance

Exotic Familiarity

I feared that somehow things wouldn’t seem as new and fresh on my return to Dublin as they were before.  During my Fulbright fellowship, I spent 365 days in this vibrant city — but even a vibrant city can become overtly familiar, I would have thought.

And yet, as I happily rediscovered many familiar comforts this past week (like Beef and Guinness Pie at Pieman in Temple Bar), I also uncovered a plethora of new adventures here.

Sunny Smithfield welcomed me back home.
My first week back was filed with meetings and contract details. On Wednesday, for instance, I enjoyed lunch with electoral engineering wizards Ted Burke, Gavin Duffy, and Damon Berry. We discussed aspects of two of my three Marie Curie projects.
Along the way, I also made some great finds. For instance, they have cleaned up my least favorite block in Smithfield and transformed it into a little park. Now I will have a much more pleasant walk to work!
My first meal back in Dublin: Pieman!
A new (Italian) bakery has appeared on Dame Street.
I enjoyed reading between meetings in St. Steven’s Green.
Grafton Street is as vibrant as ever…
…although they are still repaving it.. (As for me, I quite enjoyed the old brick paving, but the expensive new granite floor will have to do.)
This modernist set of buildings on Lower Baggott Street will soon see the wrecking ball. I was over on this side of town fro my mandatory medical clearance. Even had to fill a cup!
Later that same evening, I attended a social event on the same street.
It was a MeetUp of the group “Dublin New and Not So New” and I made new friends including Eamon Grogan (by my right).
Last week at the Cobblestone Pub, I reconnected with old friends and made new ones, like Glennis who made Dublin the first stop on her three-week European vacation.
We grabbed breakfast at the Queen of Tarts before she flew off to Prague. That gave the the chance to show her a few sights and sounds of Temple Bar.
And, also this week, I made a really big-for-me change…
..cropping…
…and chopping the hair…
…I’m not so sure it was a great idea, but, eh, what the heck? I’ll adjust.
Friday, I heard Johnny Stewart open…
…for Scott Bradley and Postmodern Jukebox, at Whelans on Camden Street…
…the show featured my Fulbright tap-dancing friend Alexander McDonald (pictured in the middle)…
..and I enjoyed the performance alongside Michael (to the right). He’s a biomedical researcher from Belfast who I met in the line.
Saturday morning I awoke just in time for…
…yoga in Phenix Park…
…by the zoo.
It’s a lovely park.
On the way I spied a pair of hands I recognized…
…and soon found the matching face — Tom Mullian. King of the Cobblestone!
I hustled from yoga over to hear Fergus Whelan’s walking tour…
…alongside my fabulously accomplished colleague, Dr. Nancy Stenson.
Fergus’ tour was a part of the People History Project…
…and it drew quite a crowd.
The people of Dublin love to learn and there are many walking tours available year year round. This one shared research that Fergus included in his book “Descent into Treason.”
Nancy and I enjoyed a post-tour lunch at The Church restaurant. And soon our friends Mairtin and Thomas d’Alton came along to join us. Nadia was busy working, so the boys had to amuse themselves.
Matrain pointed out a good local brew to try…
And then the four of us headed over to Dublinia…
…a museum attached to Christchurch…
…which features the history of…
…Dublin in Viking and Medieval times.
It was still on my “things to see in Dublin” list.
We learned how coins were minted…
…and how a half penny and a quarter were once made.
The museum was enlightening…
…and fun…
for all ages.
…though perhaps this moment wasn’t as scary…
…as the designers intended it to be.
Mairtin’s an architect — our type just can’t help but study details everywhere we go.
Nancy and I reminisced about an event we attended last year at Dublin Castle, and planned for an upcoming event together.
Outside of Christchurch, there was a plant sale underway.
Mairtin gave us a primer on the architectural details of the (heavily) renovated church.
We also saw birds…
…including hawks…
..and even a couple of owls…
…and ‘hoo’ doesn’t love owls? (Except for small furry rodents, of course!)
Hugs and kisses to my friends back home. I think of you often and wish you were here.

On Saturday, during Fergus Whelan’s history tour, I met a researcher from Fordham University.  She said how much she’d enjoyed finding this blog while she was preparing for her trip here.  Her words encouraged me to get back to posting.  I hope you find something interesting and informative in my little picture gallery of highlights of the past week.

Well, it’s 10:20 PM and the sun has just set.  It will be up again by 5 AM or so, and I’d best get ready to hit the sack. I’ve another big week ahead!

by shannonchance

Marie Curie Fellowship

It’s been a week of new adventures.  Last Monday my plane landed in Dublin and I began a new job at the Dublin Institute of Technology as a Marie Curie Research Fellow.  This is a two-year post funded by a generous grant from the European Union that will allow me to extend the research I began as a Fulbright scholar.  I spent several months last summer going the proposal, and met with success.

Many people helped with the proposal, including my mentor Dr. Nancy Stenson.  She has been a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellow (IIF) for the past two years… she told me of the IIF program, encouraged me to apply, and helped edit and refine my proposal.  Without her, I’d never have succeeded.  Jean Cahil, Jennifer Brennan, and Marek Rebow were also instrumental in the effort.  Colleen Dube, Pamela Eddy, Mike Murphy, John Donovan, and Brian Bowe provided valubale assistance as well.

Brian will be serving as my research supervisor for the next two years. Receiving this grant helped focus efforts in the college on the topic of research in engineering education. It lead to the formal establishment of CREATE (Centre for Research on Engineering, Architecture, and Technology Education, or something similar).

I’ll tell you about my recent adventures in an upcoming post….